Wild macaque at Phuket resort to be moved to wildlife reserve

PHUKET: A wild macaque that wandered into the grounds of a high-end resort on Phuket’s west coast over the weekend has been handed over to wildlife officials so they can move the monkey to a reserve in Phang Nga.

A staffer at the Paresa Resort caught the macaque, which has yet to be given a nickname, at about 3pm yesterday (Oct 30).

“I was afraid that the monkey was going to hurt tourists, so I trapped it in a cage which we keep at the resort just in case of such situations,” the staffer, who asked not to be named, explained.

The staffer then called the Nature and Wildlife Education Centre at the Khao Phra Thaew None-Hunting Area in Thalang for officers to come and collect the macaque.

Pongchat Chuahom, Chief of the Nature and Wildlife Education Centre, told The Phuket News, “Surprisingly, the macaque was alone. Normally macaques always stay troupes. I think this one became separated from its troupe in the Kamala hills nearby and for some reason came down to the resort.”

“Officers will bring the macaque back to the Nature and Wildlife Education Centre, then send it to the Phang Nga Wildlife Nursery Station where officers there can take care of it,” Chief Pongchat said.

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